Roya

Director: Mahnaz Mohammadi

Cast: Melisa Sözen, Maryam Palizban, Hamidreza Djavdan, Mohammad Ali Hosseinalipour, Bacho Meburishvili

An imprisoned teacher in Iran struggles with the weight of a forced confession.

The film begins in darkness, as Iranian teacher Roya (Melisa Sözen) wakes up locked in a three-by-three room. Formally daring, Mohammadi used sound and first-person point-of-view to fully immerse us in the experience of her tormented protagonist: darkness, snatches of conversation, dreams and confusion all blend. Unsure of her crime and with her family cruelly being used as blackmail, Roya is forced to choose between doing a sham confession or returning to prison. Directed by documentarian and activist Mahnaz Mohammadi, Roya is not an easy watch — but it’s a necessary one. (ANNA BOGUTSKAYA)